Imitation is Suicide. Insist on yourself; never imitate. – Ralph Waldo Emerson
I love this quote by Emerson. Creatively it speaks to me in a several ways. As a blogger/writer and amateur web designer creativity is so important.
Lots of times I browse the net for inspiration not imitation. There are so many things that copied on the web. From blog posts, to designs, to ideas. They can all be easily found.
It is also bad to try to imitate others. Be yourself. God made you to be you and everyone else to be themselves. Learn from others but do not imitate. Be brave enough to be yourself!
Most importantly when we imitate others and other people’s work we die ourselves. We lose who we actually are and settle for less. We do not push ourselves to the greatness each of us has locked inside of us. We get lazy and complacent.
So my challenge to you is to not imitate others. Be yourself and look to others for inspiration and not imitation.
Never be afraid to be YOU. God made each of us unique and special!
How do you spark creativity to keep you from imitation?
Dustin (114)
Bill (cycleguy) (106)
Brandon (106)
ThatGuyKC (95)
Michael (92)
Moe (70)
seekingpastor (57)
Ben (56)
Steven (46)
Sean Sabourin (44)
It’s just one of those things that I intentionally do. It’s easy to get caught up in what someone does or says and want to be like them. When I see someone inspiring, it motivates me to push harder.
Me too Michael. Well said bro!
I try to be creative with content. At the same time I don’t have a fat clue about blog themes or web design. For there I ask for help or look to blogs that I like. The way that I spark creativity is by making time to think. I need time to process and analyze and it sparks creativity in me.
Time is key, and making time for it…
RIght on man!! I think we all have passions, thoughts, and “style” that fits perfectly with what we create. We do our best work when we are unique.
So true Moe! Well said.
Change it up – I try to do something new… not neccesarily related. For example, if I try out a new restaurant or travel to a new place, all these things I feel would spark new ideas inside of me.
Same here man.
the main way i avoid immitating someone else is getting offline for a bit before I write. I like to write in the morning because I’ve had a chance to read any other blogs. I also like to get my inspiriation for Blog posts from other sources than blogs. Sometimes an article or post will ignite something in me, but for the most part i search for inspiration in conversations, books, experiences, or podcasts.
Imitation is Suicide. Insist on yourself; never imitate. – Ralph Waldo Emerson
That quote is golden. I am going to remind myself of that every time I sit down to create
I like that. Creating without having all the content that has been thrown at you all day is a great way to get your day started.
I love that quote to. I was tweeting Emerson quotes out one day when I found one that made me laugh out loud. It goes something like “Don’t quote and tell me what someone else knows. I want to know what you know.”
But don’t quote me on that.
Nice!
Being a military brat (and Hispanic) I’ve always been something of a minority. I’ve been a minority in the states and in other countries. I’ve always had to find my own niche. Imitation never worked for me because it was so obvious. It really helped me create my own voice and be proud of it.
So glad you found that voice Tony!
I ponder and think and think and ponder. And I read and drink caffeine.
I sit around and just think. And I read. Reading brings about the most ideas for me.
Yea, reading always helps me generate ideas. That is why I always keep me a notepad with me when I read…
#JesusJuke – the only One we should imitate is Christ
Now that I got THAT out of the way…
Great post, Adam. I love discussions around creativity and authenticity. Hope you enjoy the weekend.
Great post.
If we try to be someone else, the world misses out on us.
As artist I’ve often found myself looking at other’s art for inspiration. At some point I stopped doing that and decided to trust more into my personal god-given creativity. It’s been liberating!